Checkerboard Cake with Lemon Curd & Cream Cheese Icing

For the cake, pre-heat the oven to 180° C. Grease and line 2 standard (10 cm x 20 cm) loaf tins with baking paper. Using an electric whisk, whisk the eggs and sugar for 2 minutes until pale and fluffy.  Pour in the oil and milk and whisk for another minute. Add in the flour and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

Divide the batter in two and colour the one half bright yellow and the other half deep red. Pour each coloured batter into a separate loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes. Allow it to cool down in the tin for 5 minutes and then turn it over onto a cooling rack. Allow it to cool completely.

For the icing, use an electric whisk to beat the butter and sugar together for 1 minute. Using a wooden spoon, gently stir in the vanilla and cream cheese. Add in the lemon curd and mix until smooth. Be careful not to over-mix as the cream cheese can easily split at this stage.

Once the cake has cooled, trim the sides and tops of each loaf. Try and trim them so that they are equal in size and shape. Cut each loaf horizontally in half and then each half into 3 equal bars – you should end up with 6 bars of yellow cake and 6 bars of red cake.

Arrange the bars in a coloured pattern. Stick each bar onto the next bar with a thin layer of icing on each side. Either use 9, or all 12 bars (depending on it’s stability), to make one big loaf.

Ice the outside with the rest of the icing.

Serve each slice with a slice of lemon for garnish. Add a few drops of berry coulis and garnish the plate with edible flowers, mint sprigs and yellow sweets (optional).

Tip: use the left over cake that was trimmed off to make cake pops.